Preparing students and families to thrive in the gene age

Fierce competition to synthesize insulin, David Goeddel

Interviewee: David Goeddel.
David Goeddel talks about the other groups working on the insulin problem.
(DNAi Location: Manipulation > Production > Players > David Goeddel > The competition)

Transcript:

It was clear that we had, I think two formidable labs as, as competition. One on the west coast, the UCSF group that was taking what we would call the cDNA or natural gene approach, and that was Bill Rutter, Howard Goodman and various colleagues at University of California. And then there was the east coast Harvard group, led by Wally Gilbert. And I mean both very good scientifically, but I think the Gilbert group we held more in, we held them more in awe of, uh-oh, we're going to really have to be, be good if, if Wally's working on this project. But I think that was part of the attraction, and definitely the speed we did it in could only have happened if you had that sort of competition, really allowed us to focus. And from the Harvard side I think, you know, I almost look at them as, Wally as a legend and so you imagine he can do more probably even than that group could. And I think it was on our minds most of the time, you know, probably most days, I mean I thought about it all the time, are we going to hear an announcement that Gilbert has been successful.